Avery Johnson

#2 · QB · Kansas State6′3″ · 200 lb · Wichita, KS · Maize

ZPR4277th of 119 QBsLast gameL 24–27at Colorado · Oct 31
Nextvs Oklahoma StateSat Nov 7 · 1 pm ET
via kstatesports.com ↗

Did not play in Kansas State’s last 2 games.

Dillon Duff started the last one, L 24-27 in overtime at Colorado, Oct 31.

Kansas State’s next game: vs Oklahoma State, Sat Nov 7, 1:00 p.m. ET · TNT

Kansas State is 4-2 in the six games played. A dual-threat quarterback.

Strongest: sacked on 1% of dropbacks, 4th lowest of 158 starters.

Passing yards

1,301

118 of 187, 63%

TD–INT

10–3

7.0 per throw

NCAA rating

136.0

72nd of 119

ZPR

42

77th of 119

How ZPR works

Graded Solid against Kansas, the last full game; solid or better in 4 of 6 graded games.

Best by our grade: Kansas. Lowest: Houston, with 1 interception. Biggest game: Houston, No. 22.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

at Arizona State

L 17–28·Unranked

Did not play

at Colorado

L 24–27·Unranked

Did not play

Season

Gets better after halftime

How to read this

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for the quarterback, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game; on games with a lot of running it grades the passing only. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. Dashed outlines on the Season row are last season’s average. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of the quarterback’s plays, up helped the team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as the season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

Style of play

Dual-threat

Also: mobile

Why this word
Runs6.8 a gameRarelyA lot
Throws8.1 yards past the lineShortDeep
Completes63%FewerMore
Takes sacks1% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is this quarterback, among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws at a middling depth and runs some. 6.8 carries a game. Closest matches: Johnson, Washington, Minicucci ’25, Gagliano.

Where the throws go

Behind the line17%typical 17%
Short50%typical 47%
Middle22%typical 22%
Deep11%typical 14%

Runs 6.8 times a game; 78% of starters run less.

Closest in style

JohnsonWashingtonMinicucci ’25GaglianoThis QB

Nearer the middle means more alike.

  • Johnson Georgia Southern · Rhythm passer
    1,928 yards, 11 TD, 2 INT so far. Both protect the ball and hit few big plays.
  • Washington Maryland · Short-game passer
    1,805 yards, 9 TD, 7 INT so far. Both hit few big plays and avoid sacks.
  • Minicucci ’25 Delaware 2025 · Mobile passer
    3,671 yards, 23 TD, 7 INT. Both protect the ball.
  • Gagliano Middle Tennessee · Balanced
    1,587 yards, 12 TD, 4 INT so far. Both hit few big plays and avoid sacks.

Compared with the 158 FBS starters this season for throws and running, and with 219 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

  • RecordKansas State is 4-4.
  • Fans after Colorado

    Avery Johnson is leaving KSU, isn’t he?

    Kansas State fan

What’s being said

9 stories this week, from 5 outlets.

Oct 29: 2Nov 1: 1Nov 2: 4Nov 3: 2L 24-27 at ColoradoLOct 29Nov 4Most in a day: 4
Oct 29: 2Nov 1: 1Nov 2: 4Nov 3: 2L 24-27 at ColoradoLOct 29Nov 4Most in a day: 4
Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

Why Kansas State Is Confident In QB Blake Barnett If Avery Johnson Remains Sidelined

Roundtable +1 Nov 3

All 104 stories this season

Worth knowing

  • Avery Johnson has 10 touchdown passes in 6 games.
  • Avery Johnson has been sacked on 1.6% of dropbacks, the 5th-fewest among FBS quarterbacks.

His most important play this season

  1. Q2, 0:15 · Kansas State breaks the tieAvery Johnson finds Derrick Salley Jr. for a 4-yard touchdownKansas State at Cincinnati, week 4Q2, 0:15 · Kansas State 17, Cincinnati 10Kansas State took the lead in the second quarterKansas State took the lead in the second quarterDerrick Salley Jr. 4 yd pass from Avery Johnson (Luis Rodriguez Kick)Watch from this playESPN College Football

All 14 of his plays on video

The story

As of

Johnson's dual-threat profile is already elite on the ground. Our play-by-play clocks him at the 89th percentile in sack avoidance, the 89th percentile in run success rate, and the 89th percentile in explosive run rate — the full trifecta that tells you he's dangerous with his legs in every sense: elusive in the pocket, decisive at the line, and capable of taking the top off a defense on a read-keep. He averaged 7.7 yards per carry on designed runs (72nd percentile), which isn't accident football. That's a quarterback who plays with patience and then punishes hesitation.

Read the rest of the story

The honest part of the 2025 ledger is that the passing numbers didn't match. His success rate through the air (44th percentile) and explosive pass rate (31st percentile) lagged well behind a program with Big 12 championship ambitions. The 6-6 season wasn't all on him — K-State's supporting cast thinned — but it raised the central question for 2026: can a quarterback who is genuinely elite with his legs become a complete enough passer to make defenses defend the whole field?

Under Klein, who ran this same read-option system as a player and helped design the offense that made Johnson a prospect, the answer is plausibly yes. Johnson enters 2026 already sixth on K-State's all-time passing yardage list with a chance to shatter multiple program records. The Maxwell Trophy is within range if the passing efficiency catches up to the rushing brilliance. That is the entire 2026 season, compressed into one sentence.

In Kansas State's 31-26 loss at Cincinnati, Johnson went 30 of 50 for 292 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, and ran six times for 38 yards.

As of Oct 28: Kansas State is 4-3. In the six games he played he completed 118 of 187 passes for 1,301 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions, and ran 51 times for 462 yards. His best rushing game was 152 yards on 12 carries against Tulane on Sep 19, and he ran 12 times for 132 yards in the 35-24 win over Kansas on Oct 17. In the 26-31 loss at Cincinnati he threw 50 times. The box score for the 28-17 loss to Arizona State on Oct 24 lists no pass or carry for him.

Sources